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We are a small privately owned company based in Inverness, providing Companion Services for a senior clientele. We specialise in working with individuals with a diagnosis of dementia. We are a Qualifications Scotland Approved Centre and we have developed the only Customised Award in Dementia Companionship which is certificated and quality assured by Qualifications Scotland, an internationally recognised awarding body.
The company was established in 2017 by Fiona Carter and Caroline Parr, colleagues who worked together for a number of years in the mental health services in the Highlands.
We set up the business as a result of our own experience of trying to access services to help us support our elderly relatives to maintain independent living. While we could access personal care services, it was not easy to find a service whose focus was on promoting the mental wellbeing of our relatives and who had the team with the knowledge, experience and ability to deliver such support.
What we wanted was someone who could offer practical help, but who also had the skills and experience to be able to form a close, caring and compassionate relationship with someone very special to us. A person who would encourage and support our relative to engage in activities, build on their strengths, help them to feel valued and to look forward with confidence.
Companionship is a key aspect of the support that many older individuals will require. Being a Companion requires a different knowledge base, skill set and way of working to that required to deliver personal care or act as a befriender.
This is especially so for individuals with a diagnosis of dementia as they and their carers navigate through the stages of their dementia journey. It is important to be able to recognise when a person can benefit from a Dementia Companion, and to have the necessary knowledge and skills to establish an effective Companion relationship that values and is responsive to that individual’s uniqueness; their values, hopes and aspirations.
Being a Companion is more than just ‘having a chat and a cuppa’ with someone, important as that is, or providing a series of one-time activities. Establishing a meaningful and effective Companion relationship is an ongoing process that requires the Companion to be able to reflect, analysis and evaluate, drawing on their specialist knowledge to enable informed decision making that will ensure the best outcomes for the person that they are working alongside.
Our background and experience enables us to provide a specialist and holistic approach to the bespoke Companionship service that we offer for older people, in particular those with a diagnosis of dementia. A Companionship service that can make a real difference to a client’s emotional wellbeing and their quality of life. We have a small established team of skilled team. All our team have experience of providing Companionship services for a senior clientele and some have worked in other professional capacities.
Working in partnership with the client and those close to them we tailor our service to meet the needs and preferences of each individual and seek to deliver that service in a friendly, discrete and professional manner.
All of our team have been trained to Dementia Informed Practice Level in accordance with the Promoting Excellence Framework that supports Scotland’s Dementia Strategy and some of our team have attained the Skilled and Expertise in Dementia Practice Levels.
In addition, we have team members who have been trained in Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, an evidence-based therapy for people with dementia and the only non-medical therapy endorsed by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidelines for the cognitive symptoms of dementia.